


the maiden of the first

by shslivalice



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst, Gen, when your oc is the same as a canon concept
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 16:17:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21079709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shslivalice/pseuds/shslivalice
Summary: a woman who follows the exarch, who follows him in silence. why does she do this? why does she mourn?





	the maiden of the first

The first attempt at the Summoning did not do well. They had brought forward somebody close, true. But it was not the right person, and they ran within a day. (Ran? No. He heard of somebody he needed to save.)

From that day onwards, the Crystal Maiden no longer spoke. Some said that the spell stole her voice, but the Exarch knew better. From when she had first joined him, she had masked her eyes so that nobody would be afraid of her hollow gaze, of what she was. Minfilia, but not. Minfilia, but not a warrior, one who had come with him. But she had been unable to speak when she saw him. The Thancred of the Source - the selfsame Thancred who would likely freak out upon hearing a Minfilia. If he knew that one stood here...

...well, she couldn't let him know. It'd hurt him too much. They could do their plan, and he'd never need to know.

People still missed her voice. Her gentle kindness was still there, but burdens begin to pile upon her. Every summoning done wrong, every person who arrived, it seemed to make her grow more and more bitter.

Or perhaps that was seeing another Minfilia. One who had just earned her freedom. But Thancred didn't know how to handle her... he was cold and distant. It would be worse if she'd introduced herself, huh? But she missed him. She missed Thancred so much - how he was.

Her and Minfilia didn't speak. They didn't meet often. For the Maiden had work to do. While the Exarch protected, she created. She not only helped build up, but she advised as best she could without words. And she would care for and cherish anybody. (But insisted, in her own silent way, that she didn't need to be cherished back. For someday she may vanish, just like the Exarch. For they would do the same for her. Right?)

* * *

The day the Warrior arrived, the Crystal Maiden had not been there. She had been busy aiding, emergencies only she could handle. But it was fine, right? As soon as she heard it was successful, that night, she gave the Exarch a warm smile and hold.

"Someday, Bolormaa, you'll need to tell him," the Exarch had told her. Whispering, her voice so quiet, Bolormaa shook her head.

"...and someday you'll need to tell the Warrior. But... not yet."

(It was a conversation they had often. She only spoke for him.)

But they had time. Didn't they? Someday, the other Minfilia would either die or become her own person. And... well, she didn't know what Thancred would do. (She couldn't be his Minfilia either, even with her memories. She had become her own person.)

His hands moved to the scales under her robes, and smiled. She smiled back, gently. They could do this. One would die, and the other would use it to move to find their perfect home. They had decided this so long ago...

* * *

The Maiden - Bolormaa - continued to work in town as everything happened. Sometimes, the Warrior would linger, asking her questions. Sometimes, they would linger watching her. As would the others, at times. Even Thancred - who could tell she watched him back. But he had not figured it out.

And time had consumed. Everybody else had a role to play, and that role began to consume their time, as they brought back the night. The first time that Bolormaa saw the stars again, she spent the whole night staring upwards. She almost took off her blindfold, but she didn't. Just in case.

Minfilia became Ryne, and Ryne became loved. (Would she have been loved like that, if she didn't have her eyes? If she didn't have her voice? Bolormaa knew she shouldn't be jealous of a child, but...! Her heart longed for what used to be. For her big brother who was still her big brother, for who they used to be.)

But everything was done. They'd done it. The Exarch lived, and so did she. (If he had fallen to Light, she would have vanished as well. Their destinies connected.)

...what now? Bolormaa had decided she would vanish, Thancred would get his Minfilia, and all would be well. But instead...

...instead he was still stuck here. But he still had his Minfilia. She had drafted a letter... she couldn't stay, if he was. For she knew she'd slip up.

* * *

But before she delivered it, she sat as high as she could get, watching the stars. Finally removing her blindfold, hoping she'd be alone. Her gown draped over her, her lips curled into a smile. They'd made a beautiful world, huh? Her and the Exarch. A world that may not be hers to remain in, but one she could love.

A presense appeared behind her, though. One which she couldn't help but feel swiftly, beginning to replace her blindfold.

"...I saw them."

It was Thancred. His voice at once harsh but confused. She still replaced her blindfold.

"...were you... this way all along?"

A nod. She couldn't lie to him. Not anymore. (He had not asked. He had not figured it out, as he moved to sit by her.)

"Minfilia... is gone," Thancred said, a lump in his throat, "but what does that mean for you? Who are you, Maiden?"

Bolormaa took in a deep breath. Her voice - just like Minfilias' - made him shudder as he heard it.

"...it's... a long story. Are you certain you want to hear?"

Before she could say more, Thancred enveloped her in a hold. He missed that voice. (She wasn't Minfilia. She couldn't be Minfilia. But she couldn't help but smile at the hold.) "Please. Explain."

And so, Bolormaa began to explain. How she came from a world that fell. That the Viera - not Lyna, but a soft other Viera - was the soul of her Thancred, but wasn't him like this, but wasn't really Thancred. That she was born by a mistake, and that her and G'raha - her love, her beloved - were looking for a new homeworld. But this couldn't be it. That she was so sorry, so very pained, that she couldn't be Minfilia.

Thancred listened silently, holding her. He was still silent, as she moved to just cry against him, a child and her big brother. (No. Not her big brother.) His hands moved to rub her back.

And Thancred only needed to say one thing.

"...you don't need to be Minfilia. I don't know how long we'll be in the First, Bolormaa - but I want to get to know you."

An unspoken plea between them. Please, don't run away anymore. Please, let the truth come forward.

**Author's Note:**

> yeah so seeing as bolormaa is basically ryne but an oc made earlier....... she has Issues. felt like writing a fic about it.


End file.
